EP2389915B1

EP2389915B1 - Dynamic head support

Info

Publication number: EP2389915B1
Application number: EP11004247.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Berto Vassilli
Original assignee: Vassilli SRL
Current assignee: Vassilli SRL
Priority date: 2010-05-25
Filing date: 2011-05-24
Publication date: 2015-10-14
Anticipated expiration: 2031-05-24
Also published as: ES2558627T3; ITPD20100161A1; EP2389915A1; PT2389915E; IT1400287B1

Description

The object of this patent application is a new head support device, called dynamic because it remains in contact with the head of the disabled person during any movements.
In particular this head support is particularly suitable for use in the wheelchairs of disabled people.
The manufacturers of accessories for the disabled have always been intent on creating devices that are comfortable and effective in meeting the specific needs of the disabled.
The head support, especially when used together with wheelchairs, is particularly important in certain types of disabilities.
Indeed, the head support is essential for that type of disability that requires, because of the impossibility of maintaining the correct posture of the head, or because of sudden spasms, the use of braces to contain uncontrolled movements of the head.
These days the head support looks quite similar to the well-known one used in cars, but with greater ease in regulation.
In fact the shape is slightly concave in order to restrain the head at the rear in the occipital region and in a partly lateral manner in the parietal region.
The traditional structure of the head support is appropriately padded at the front where it comes into contact with the head and is supported, behind the padding, in a fixed manner, with the possibility of adjustment, with respect to the backrest of the wheelchair (see fig. 1) along the Z and Y axes.
This adjustment generally includes the possibility of setting the height Z and the horizontal depth Y.
With these two movements the head support nears the head of the disabled person in the occipital region and the height and the depth are fixed in a stable manner.
Nevertheless, this arrangement is often very restrictive and greatly limits the natural movements that also the disabled person, with problems moving the head, should and could carry out.
And it does not help the disabled person afflicted with dystonia and/or twitches, since it has a rigid contraposition that stimulates this pathology.
Until now there has not been any support that overcomes the main drawbacks of a normal head support in a simple, inexpensive and reliable way and at the same time respecting the needs of disabled persons.
The features of the preamble of claim 1 are known from EP 1772130 , US 4840429 , DE 10147349 , another type of support for the head is shown in US 5791735 , US 1686631 .
The purpose of this patent application is to have a head support that follows the movements of the head, restricting them and limiting them so that they do not become excessive and too sudden, and which can be easily adjusted to the correct position.
Another purpose of the above-mentioned head support consists of the fact that it anthropometrically follows the movements of the head.
The invention consists of a head support that includes padding that rests against the head of the disabled person in the occipital region, this padding being joined to a support structure that is fixed (or the padding directly) in a protruding manner on a moveable rod of an articulated quadrangle that allows the movements of the head to be followed.
Preferably the support structure is fixed in a protruding manner to the moveable rod, providing a simple and compact configuration.
The suitable sizing of the levers, hinged to the moveable rod on the one side and hinged to a base on the other side, allows you to obtain an extremely useful movement of the rod that is configured for anthropometric movement with respect to the articulation of the head.
In particular the above-mentioned movement allows the movement of the head to be followed towards the rear part.
Advantageously these movements are limited by an elastic element that resists these movements, dampening them, in part dissipating the energy.
Preferably this elastic element is a gas pump that is fixed between the base of the articulated quadrilateral and a lever.
Preferably these elastic elements exert a counter force proportional to the intensity of the movement, and have differentiated elastic constant between the movement following stress and its return or release, i.e. they have an elastic constant of return that is lower than that direct one so as to provide a repositioning of the head support to its resting state in a slow manner.
This has the quality of softening the impact and fostering neuro-dystonic relaxation, in that we do not have the rigid contraposition of a traditional fixed head support.
To avoid troublesome oscillations, said elastic elements can be pre-loaded, providing the disabled person with the feeling of a solid support.
The base of this articulated quadrilateral is positioned and held in place by devices for adjusting the height and depth.
The height can be adjusted by a moveable rod fixed at the rear of the wheelchair.
At the top end of this rod the device for adjusting the depth is hinged, composed of a semi-circular element that allows both the depth and the height of the support point of the head support to be adjusted.
This head support also has the added improvement of the interposition of an elastic component, preferably a rubber element, fixed between the padding and the protruding part of the moveable rod of the articulated quadrilateral.
This rubber element, preferably solid rubber, carries out the function of absorbing any parietal dystonia of the disabled person.
This rubber is effective if it is sufficiently flexible to be able to absorb contractions and dystonia, both lateral as well as antero-posterior.
The form of the head support, when properly padded, is of the anatomical semi-wraparound variety, allowing the head to be held and controlled also in a lateral position and therefore preventing the decentralisation of the head.
From the following description the above-mentioned benefits and further improvements and refinements will be evident, with reference to a preferred realisation, by way of example and in no way restrictive.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a head support of the previous art, where the height and depth adjustments are independent and carried out through adjustable rods.
Fig. 2 shows the object of this patent application supported in the rear by a backrest of a stylised wheelchair on which the outline of a person has been drawn whose head is resting on the head support.
Fig. 3 shows the device of Fig. 2, where the head support is pushed behind the head of the above-mentioned person.
Figs. 4 and 5 show in greater detail a part respectively of drawings 2 and 3.
Fig. 6 shows a partial side view of the device that is the object of this patent application.
Fig. 7 shows figs. 2 and 3 overlying, with the regulation and movement possibilities highlighted.
Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of the head support that is the object of this patent application in a rest position.
Fig. 9 shows the head support of fig. 8 reclined and pushed back.

The head support 1 includes shaped padding, preferably an anatomical semi-wraparound of the head of the disabled person.
This padding 2 of the support protrudes at the back from a moveable rod 5, preferably tubular, of an articulated quadrilateral, with an elastic component 4 inserted, advantageously a rubber element.
This moveable rod 5 is hinged onto at least a pair of levers 6 and 7, in their turn hinged to the opposite end on a base 8.
Between the base 8 and a lever 6 an elastic element 9 has been fixed, in particular a small gas pump, preferably pre-loaded in order to avoid troublesome oscillations and to provide the sensation of a solid support for the disabled person.
Conveniently the points where the above-mentioned gas pump 9 is fixed revolve with respect to the base and with respect to the lever 6.
The above-mentioned base 8 has hinged support 12, in order to be brought to the correct position and inclination, on a device for regulating the depth containing a semi-circular element 10 that makes it possible to have a simultaneous movement for varying the height and the inclination of the head support.
On the outer part of said semi-circular element 10 there is a single restraining control 13 for fixing and releasing.
In its turn the semi-circular element 10 is hinged 11 along its horizontal axis to the upper end of the rod for adjusting the height 14 needed for attaining the desired height where the head support 1 should be positioned.
The use and the operation of this head support 1 is extremely simple.
After regulating the rod for adjusting the height 14 in order to bring the head support to the required height (using the movement indicated as A in fig. 7), using the restraining control 13 you make a bigger distance between the two arched elements that make up the curved element 10; these two arched elements are joined at their ends forming two housings for hinging 11, 12, the former 11 for the rod for adjusting the height 14, and the latter housing 12, at the opposite end, for the base 8 of the articulated quadrilateral.
The spacing of the two arched elements widens the housings 11 and 12 releasing the hinging, providing the free rotation (in line with the movement indicated as B in Fig. 7) of both the hinges in housings 11 and 12.
The head support 1, free to rotate around the axes of hinges 11 and 12, is easily brought to rest in the occipital region of the head 3 of the disabled person who is seated in the wheelchair 15.
The disabled person, because of dystonia or twitching, moves his head 3 backwards (according to the movement C in Fig. 7) without finding any rigid hindrance.
But the padding 2 moves, yielding to the pressure exercised by the head 3 of the disabled person, according to the degree of looseness of the moveable rod 5 of the articulated quadrilateral which is configured as a Grashof quadrilateral.
Using a pair of levers 6 and 9 with lengths that allow the padding 2 to have an anthropometric movement (see lowering D corresponding to the going back of the padding) corresponding to the movement of the head 3 of the disabled person, you obtain the absence of the relative sliding between the head 3 and the padding 2.
This anthropometric movement of the padding 2 is very important and valued since it prevents the continual and bothersome rubbing of the head 3 against the padding 2.
Since sudden and impulsive movements are not only antero-posterior but also include lateral dystonia and jerks, the padding 2 of the head support has a configuration that can contain them and reduce them, thanks to the anatomical semi-wraparound shape, because of the presence of an elastic component 4, like a flexible rubber element, inserted between the protruding end of the upper free rod 5 of the articulated quadrilateral and the structure supporting the padding 2 of the head support 1.
This elastic component 4 provides every small rotation with absorption and softening of the stresses bring back in a soft elastic manner the head support to the configuration it has when at rest.
It is very important that the elastic devices 4 and 9 that are used can absorb and deaden the stresses to which they are subjected, providing the disabled person with the sensation of not having any rigid impediment, while at the same time containing and controlling his dystonia and/or jerks, fostering a neuro-dystonic relaxation.

Claims

Dynamic head support for wheelchairs for the disabled including a pad (2) that comes into contact with the occipital zone of the head (3) of the user in order to contain and limit the antero-posterior movements, with said pad (2) being joined to a support structure, wherein said pad (2) or its support structure is fixed in a protruding manner to a movable rod (5) of an articulated quadrilateral with hinged linkages (6, 7) characterised by the fact that the linkages are sized so as to carry out a lowering (D) movement of the movable rod (5) with respect to the backwards movement of the pad (2), which is configured as an anthropometric movement with respect to the movement of the head (3) of the user, with said links (6, 7)being hinged, with different distances between the axes, at the opposite end, with respect to the movable rod (5), to a base (8), with there being also an elastic element (9), set between said base (8) and at least one link
Dynamic head support according to one or more of the previous claims characterised by the fact that said elastic element (9) dissipates the energy.
Dynamic head support according to one or more of the previous claims characterised by the fact that said elastic element (9) has a differentiated elastic constant between the straining movement and the release.
Dynamic head support according to one or more of the previous claims characterised by the fact that said elastic element (9) has a preload to prevent the pad (2) from freely oscillating.
Dynamic head support according to one or more of the previous claims characterised by the fact that said pad (2) or its support structure is fixed to the moveable rod (5) with the insertion of an elastic device (4) that is capable of absorbing parietal and/or anterior-posterior dystonia of the head (3) of the disabled person.
Dynamic head support according to one or more of the previous claims characterised by the fact that said pad (2) has an anatomical semi-wraparound configuration for the head (3).
Dynamic head support according to one or more of the previous claims characterised by the fact that the means of regulating the depth is made up of an element with a semi-circular shape (10) composed of two distinct elements joined at their ends forming two housings for hinging (11, 12), the first housing (11) for adjusting the height (14) and the second housing (12) for hinging the pad, with eventual insertion of the articulated quadrilateral, the locking of these hinges being possible by means of the said two curved elements coming closer to each other with a narrowing of the distance of the housings (11, 12).